


don't say goodbye (just say hello)

by tsunwalker



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Avengers AU, F/M, also blame me seeing civil war, blame jackie, i just really wanted to write hulk!minerva and my otp, so this happened, this really doesn't fit in mcu continuity but idc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 01:49:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6780352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tsunwalker/pseuds/tsunwalker
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>it's hard to forget someone when you stole their hoodie the night you dropped off the face of the earth. or, minerva and rogue have a lot to talk about, but no idea of where to start.</p>
            </blockquote>





	don't say goodbye (just say hello)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [woopsforgotadam](https://archiveofourown.org/users/woopsforgotadam/gifts).



> so i blame jackie and her avengers au. also she is an enabler who totally encouraged me to write this. takes place after her fics, but before aou which really threw a wrench into this verse tbh.

His breathing had finally evened out, a sign that he had fallen asleep, when she dared open her eyes again. Gaze finding the bruises from the last time she lost control, when she had lashed out at him, she bit her lip in frustration. No, he wouldn’t like this, but it was for his own good. For his and his sister, to let them both be safe from her curse.

She dressed quickly, tossing only the most essential of her things into a backpack. There was an ATM at the airport, and she could afford to withdraw enough of her account to get herself out of the country quickly. But she needed to move quickly, before the people who had spearheaded this test realized what she was doing. And she needed to keep her goddamn head straight, so that she didn’t make a bigger mess than she already had.

A groan sounded from the bed behind her, and she froze, praying to gods that she hadn’t believed in since her mother died that he wasn’t waking up. When all she could hear was breathing, she finally released her own breath, before crouching down to grab a pair of sensible sneakers. So long heels and designer skirts, she was leaving for a land of flats and jeans. Anything to stay out of the public eye.

Slipping quietly to the doorway, she turned to take one last look at him. The hoodie she had pulled on was probably his, but it was cold outside and she needed the warmth. (Plus… he had liked her in his hoodies, and she was selfish enough to be unable to leave without one little piece of him with her.) Her phone was still on the table, turned off as it usually was during the night. There was no way that she was going to take anything that could be used to track her along, not when she was intending to drop off the grid.

Her father taught her too well, and she had always been smart.

Tears pricked at her green eyes, but she wasn’t about to change her mind. “I’m sorry Rogue…” Minerva whispered into the room, opening the door. “I love you too much to let you suffer…”

And then, she was gone.

##                        Five years later….

“U.R., did Gray say when he was going to be back? I could use an extra set of eyes on these figures?” Tugging on her ponytail, Minerva frowned at the notes before her before leaning back in her chair. She had been staring at the biometrics regarding a certain Winter Soldier’s arm for hours, and it was giving her a headache. Time to pass them along to the other genius in the building, and to turn her attention to something else.

Anything besides that mission they had run the week before.

“He should be arriving at the Tower in about ten minutes or so, Dr. Orland.” It was so strange having a disembodied A.I. be able to answer her questions, especially after so many years on her own, but that was just one of the things Minerva had to get used to now. The other people was more difficult, which was a big part of why she tended to hide out in the lab instead of socializing with the others. It was safer, less annoying.

The only times she ventured out were for missions or food really. To the point where Gray had found her sleeping on her desk more than once. Still, it was the best way to avoid the nightmares that haunted her when she actually fell asleep at a decent hour in her own bed. There was no way she was going to let the others know that she fought monsters in her head, waking up screaming. She still had her pride, after all.

Sometimes that was all she had left.

“I’m going to get some tea then.” Sliding off her lab coat, the scientist pushed her hands into the pocket of her hoodie as she exited the lab. Perhaps a walk would be a good idea too, clear her head. She could catch Gray when he got back, discuss her findings there. It would be a good way to spend her time, keep things flowing. Keep her mind busy, which was the important part. 

Sure, she hadn’t had an incident since that time on the helicarrier (at least not one where she wasn’t intentionally turning into the ‘other’ her), but that was more of an uneasy truce rather than control. And control was what Minerva truly craved, that or a cure. But that wasn’t happening anytime soon, was it? She was the world’s expert on gamma radiation, and she hadn’t found it yet.

Giving Vastia and Blendy a wary nod, Minerva made her way into the kitchen proper, leaving them to their good-natured discussion regarding the archer’s habit of drinking coffee directly from the pot. An argument that they had pretty much once every few weeks, from what she could tell, but never in cruelty. But still, none of her business really. 

Scowling up at the teakettle that **_someone_**  (probably Laxus) had placed out of her reach, she forced herself to close her eyes and breathe deeply. Calm herself down. Anything to keep herself from losing it. 

That would just make this day even better.

“Anyway, this is the kitchen, if you’re hungry. Oh hey, Doctor Strangelove.”

Oh no. This was _so_ much better. Turning slowly to give the technical owner of the tower a dark glare, Minerva’s eyes fell on something she hadn’t seen in years. Or, rather, someone.

Nope, definitely not her day.

Gray was saying something about someone suggesting that they get a team psychologist and finding him interesting. Which, if Minerva had been paying attention, she would agree with, since she really didn’t want to play that role. (She wasn’t that type of doctor.) But her gaze was fixed on the guarded face of the man she had left behind.

“Rogue…”

He was quiet, choosing his words carefully. So at least that hadn’t changed. Then… “So that’s where that one went.”

She blinked before looking down at the sweatshirt she was wearing. Of course, it was the one she had taken with her when she had left. It had stopped smelling like him years ago, but she hadn’t been able to get rid of it. The last thing she really had of someone she had loved, before she had to leave him behind. “Yeah…”

There was another question, one she knew was coming. But one she really didn’t want certain others to hear. So, with a sigh, Minerva glanced over at the engineer. “I need to borrow Dr Cheney for a bit.” Moving towards the doorway, she almost reached for his hand, before pulling her own hand back. “Follow me…?” Looking up, she hoped that he would actually listen to her request and come along.

He had always been the person to do the opposite of what she wanted.

Thankfully, he seemed to notice the way she glanced warily over at Gray, and nodded, allowing her to lead him down the hall to the nearest room. “Minerva…” he started, once she had closed the door but she shook her head quickly.

“U.R., can you block audio and video from this room. And Gray, I know you’re listening.” Green eyes narrowed as she looked up at the ceiling, where she knew that cameras watched. Awaiting the robotic voice confirming her request, after which she nodded. “He’s nosy. I saw him looking through SHIELD files the other day.” And she’d rather not him hear the inevitable conversation they were about to have.

“You left.”

Minerva couldn’t help it, she winced at the matter of fact way he said that. But he wasn’t wrong, not really. She had left him, alone in that bed, without having the guts to tell him goodbye to his face. It was the coward’s way out, and she had probably hurt him a lot. “Yeah…”

His gaze was even, when she managed to look up to see it. Fixed on her face, while she couldn’t look at his for as long. “Not even a note.”

She tugged at the sleeve of her — his — hoodie. “If I had written one, you could’ve woken up, or found it beforehand. I…” Ugh, this was why she had dreaded running into him again. “I wanted to get away cleanly, without anyone stopping me.” 

Reaching for a chair, since this was some unused office it seemed, she took a seat, trying to calm her breathing. Oh no Gray, let’s reunite her with her ex-lover, that won’t be stress-inducing at all. Because their connection, at least some form of it, had to be in her file. If SHIELD could find her in freaking Bella Coola, they would know that she had worked with Rogue Cheney in the past. And probably knew that their relationship wasn’t strictly professional.

She was going to kill him.

“… You’re still wearing it.” 

The words caught her off guard, and Minerva looked up, a frown on bare lips as she tried to follow what he was talking about. The hoodie again? “… I… couldn’t let go of it.” Whenever she had moved — which had been often — she had made sure that it was still among her stuff. Wearing it in hundred degree weather if necessary. “It was the only thing that reminded me of the times I felt like me…”

Rogue nodded, running a hand through his own dark hair. It had grown, she noticed, and he wore the look well, or he would if he would just brush it. But he had never cared about that stuff, not as much as she used to. “… So… Just how screwed up are these people? If I’m to be their shrink, I’d like someone’s medical opinion.”

For the first time all day, a smile hinted at her lips. “Well, I’m one of them, so that should tell you something.” This was the guy who wrote a paper for one of his psych classes on her, _before_  the accident. 

(He thought she didn’t know. She knew.)

“I’m… Glad to see you Rogue.” Maybe later she could admit that she had missed him. But for now, that would do. It was a step forward, after all. All she could hope for.

But there was hope now, which was more than when she had started the day.

**Author's Note:**

> so, it isn't pure reconciliation, but at the same time, it wouldn't feel right to be together again just like that imo? like, they have a lot to work through, and it won't just be fixed that quickly. but there's a chance, which is more than they had before. i might write more, idk. depends on my mood.


End file.
